Windows 7 Installation Problems

[Mr_Pie_Guy1234]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I couldn't find a specific area for questions on separate operating systems.

I'm really stumped here. During the windows install, while trying to format the windows partition then install, Windows thinks that the partition that I want to install it in is MBR, but it's actually GPT. The reason it wants GPT is because my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H) uses efi, which makes windows require it. At first I thought I just forgot, so I just re-formatted the drive through disk utility, making sure to select GPT in the options menu. I went back to the windows installer, and it still thought that it was MBR. Any suggestions?

 

[Going Bald]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I couldn't find a specific area for questions on separate operating systems.

I'm really stumped here. During the windows install, while trying to format the windows partition then install, Windows thinks that the partition that I want to install it in is MBR, but it's actually GPT. The reason it wants GPT is because my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H) uses efi, which makes windows require it. At first I thought I just forgot, so I just re-formatted the drive through disk utility, making sure to select GPT in the options menu. I went back to the windows installer, and it still thought that it was MBR. Any suggestions?

If you want to install Windows 7 on EFI, be aware that the Chimera boot loader will not see it and you will need to use the BIOS hotkey to select the Win7 drive to boot when you want to run Win7.

That said, on an EFI BIOS motherboard your DVDRW with the Win7 install DVD inserted in the tray will show up twice. Once as a normal DVDRW and once as an EFI DVDRW. So, to install EFI on a GPT+ formatted hard drive:
1. Put the Win7 install DVD in the DVDRW.
2. Boot the PC and hit the BIOS hot key to select a boot device during BIOS post.
3. Select the EFI DVDRW to boot.
4. Install Win7 normally, formatting the drive NTFS and then installing.

For normal install for dual booting, try reading through http://www.tonymacx86.com/snow-leop...multibooting-novice-updated-3-12-see-log.html and scroll down to the bottom for Win7 installs with Lion.

 

[Mr_Pie_Guy1234]

After doing a lot of reading last night, I found that out myself. I finally got it to start installing by doing that and by unplugging my mountain lion drive. The installer started, and while it was at "Completing Installation", it failed and said that "Windows setup could not configure windows to run on this computer's hardware". I read that this could be caused by the drive mode being set to RAID, but I made sure it was set to AHCI mode. Any suggestions?

 

[Going Bald]

After doing a lot of reading last night, I found that out myself. I finally got it to start installing by doing that and by unplugging my mountain lion drive. The installer started, and while it was at "Completing Installation", it failed and said that "Windows setup could not configure windows to run on this computer's hardware". I read that this could be caused by the drive mode being set to RAID, but I made sure it was set to AHCI mode. Any suggestions?

Boot to OS X. Use Disk Utility to format your Win7-to-be HDD to GUID, partition to MSDOS FAT32 Name Win7
Shutdown.
Disconnect OS X HDD.
Boot with Win7 DVD in the DVDRW tray.
Hit the BIOS hot key to select a boot device.
Select the normal DVDRW, not the EFI one.
At the Win7 install screen select the FAT32 partition, click on the advanced button, click on the format button. When it finishes formatting, click on the install button.
When it finishes installing, go to Download: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932) - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details and select the SP1 version for your Win7 (32 bit or 64 bit) and download/install it.

windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe	903.2 MB
windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe	537.8 MB

Then go to MS update and finish updating. Install your security suite and office software, etc.
Shutdown, reconnect the OS X drive, boot to BIOS and make the OS X drive first in HDD boot order, save&exit, continue boot. At the Chimera timeout screen hit a key to select Win7 to boot.

 

[Going Bald]

If the above fails, change the SATA port mode to IDE, install Win7 on the preformatted HDD, update it, etc. then go to Error message when you start a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-based computer after you change the SATA mode of the boot drive: "STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE" and click on the "fix it now" button. This enables AHCI in your Win7 install. Boot back into BIOS and and set your SATA port mode back to AHCI. Save&exit, continue boot.